Indiana Jones Movie for Almost 6 Year Old?

It's way too scary, in my opinion, for a six year old. If you want a good summary and opinions, try commonsensemedia.org. They review all sorts of movies, books, and games and give age ranges for which they're appropriate.

(for what it's worth - I just checked and they say the first three Indiana Jones movies are appropriate for ages 11 and up)

3 moms found this helpful

well theres the whole "in the pit with the snakes part" the guys chasing him, the guy with the burned hand thing. I think 6 is pretty young for this movie. and if your going show him a movie but have to cover his eyes for part of it I would think that was the big clue that its too old for him

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My husband let our son watch those at six, but I wouldn't have. There are some very gruesome scenes -- faces melting, ants eating up a person, etc. Definitely not appropriate for that age group.

If your son has a Wii, I do like the Lego Indiana Jones game. Same themes and characters, but tame.

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I didn't let our daughter see the first one until just recently -- and she is 10 years old and definitely not a "scaredy-cat" who gets easily frightened. The scene at the end of the first film where the Ark of the Covenant's power melts the villain's face down to the skull, melts everyone in the place (except our heroes) down to skeletons and then destroys even the skeletons is very scary, I think. My daughter loves sword-and-sorcery films and she wasn't upset and perfectly understood what was going on but found it scary anyway (I know because she jumped over the scene when watching it again).

I figure, why rush these movies? Yeah, they're great, and yeah, I guess kids today see more stuff that's violent or scary at earlier ages than we did. But I would think this film too scary for younger kids, and by younger I would say any kid under about 10. Go to web sites that do reviews aimed specifically at parents wanting to know what movies are OK for kids. Why does your son want an Indiana Jones movie at his age? Has someone been talking it up? I'd start talking up something more age-appropriate.

2 moms found this helpful

In our family, I remember watching it when we were about 11 or 12; it was thrilling to say the least.

Unfortunately, my younger brother watched it earlier- at around seven or so-- and had nightmares for a while. I suppose it depends on the child, but we're going to wait a while for this one in our house. I'm not cool with my kid seeing the human sacrifice scenes or the weird relationship between Indiana Jones and his girlfriend either.

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There are movie ratings for a reason!! The Indiana Jones ones are PG 13 I think so they are not suitable for kids younger than that. I am AMAZED at the number of people who let their young kids watch inappropriate movies. My 10 year old twins only watch what they are allowed on the box and the same with video games( they are v happy as they can now play the 10+ ones!)

1 mom found this helpful

We watch them (kids are 7 & 4). I cover their eyes on the scary part (like when they open the arc, or in the last crusade when the guy picks the wrong cup and drinks from it.). They've been fine, no nightmares.

1 mom found this helpful

Common Sense Media recommends them for children 11 and older.

1 mom found this helpful

There are some scary scenes, but nothing my own kids had an issue with. So it's going to depend on what your six year old can handle.
Here is what I remember (my kids love it too, so we have the box set of all 3, plus a separate copy of the fourth)..

First one: the scene where the ark is opened and there is chaos and swirling "forms". Also, being dropped into the pit with the snakes.

The 2nd: (Temple of Doom) has some very intense scenes where Indy and the boy are captured in the temple and there is a sacrifice. Cutting out of beating heart, type stuff.

The 3rd: (The Last Crusade) can't remember the scary part(s)? Maybe when the bad guy drinks from the wrong choice of cups/chalices and dissolves(?)...

The last: (The Crystal Skulls)--some creepy sci-fi stuff, but I don't remember anything really that bad-just action/adventure stuff: sword fighting, river rapids, shoot'em ups, etc..

1 mom found this helpful

I've let me then 5 y/o daughter watch some of those movies WITH ME... and no issues. What makes things more scary than they are is if they are watching these movies alone without someone they trust to tell them it's just a story, these aren't real people but actors playing characters.

Although there are scary moments in all the movies, the only one I didn't much care for was 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' - it just grossed me out.
It depends on the kid.
At 4, I thought my son might be scared of the Jurassic Park movies (he was so in love with dinosaurs) but he LOVED them all.
The bigger the teeth, the more he liked it.
He was sure the T-Rex would be his friend.

I honestly think 6 years old is too young for an Indiana Jones movie. There's too much of everything for someone that young. Can't appreciate the archeologist mind frame, the Nazis are not explainable at his age, sex is not in his age appropriate area, violence....no need to even go there, the religious aspects of what goes on is too complex.
Get something age appropriate.
Aside from Temple of Doom, Raiders and Last Crusade are good. Doom is just gross. And just from watching bits and pieces of it! Star Wars are fine, A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Jedi. I agree that Revenge of the Sith is too gross. Too many inconsistencies between the first and last three.

My daughter saw her first Indiana Jones movie whe she was four and loved it.

They do have scary scenes, but if you watch together then you can explain them (fighting, bugs, shooting, etc). There are a couple of scary scenes in each movie, no bad language that I can remember. My daughter is 5 and has seen all four of them. She likes these and the mummy movies with Brendon Frasier. I do tell her about movie magic and how they can do almost anything in the films with help of computers and imagination.

Our kids have watched both of the movie trilogies. They saw them a long time ago. I would not let them watch the new star wars movies though, especially when Darth Vador gets made. That made me sick for weeks. I kept dreaming I was burning alive.

I say the Indiana Jones movies would be fine and at the very least the last of the original star wars where they meet the Ewoks for the first time.

I went to see Raiders of the Lost Ark at the theater on a date with mom and dad (6-ish?) and I know mom would have covered my eyes for some of it. I saw Temple of Doom in the theater also, I don't know, I'm guessing around 8 or 9? HOWEVER um, no. Raiders of the Lost Ark has that bit at the beginning where a dude's head gets cut off with a propeller (but you don't really see anything but blood splat, but you know what happens), and then the end...Ack! My 5 year old watched it a week or 2 ago when it came on TV, but I have the movies memorized and made sure to be there to distract him. But at the end when they open the ark, I just said "Come here baby" and muted the TV and put on a Justin Bieber video on youtube so he couldn't see the TV ("baby, baby, baby, ooooh, baby, baby, baby---LOL!). I was honest and said "It's just a scary party where the bad guys get their butts kicked". He could see it when the ark's lid closed (and Bieber's video was almost over). On Temple of Doom: I love that movie so much. But depending on your world view and how you've prepared your child, it might be scary or shocking to see the starving people, the children as slaves being beat by whips, the HORRIBLE dinner that I still gag at, and then there's the whole kali ma thing that.....well, not even gonna go there. NO I just talked myself out of that---6 is a bit too young...try 10 or 11. The Last Crusade may be boring for him, but is quite tame. I can't think of anything that I would deem "scary" or not ok for a 6 year old. I never saw The Crystal Skull.

Yep. There are scary things in all the movies. From snakes to melting people to reaching in to get your heart pulled out.

My son has been watching them since he was 3 & 4 (along with star wars, and pirates of the caribbean, and harry potter)... and has LOVED them / not been scared by the scary parts at all. Disney cartoons scared the bejeebers out of him (the evil people in disney are reeeeeeally evil!) and we couldn't watch them until he was 7ish, but not Indy and others. Indiana Jones, Starwars, Pirates... he loved and adored and never had a single problem with.

He also loved and adored both the MAKING of the Indy movies (almost more than the movie itself), and "The adventures of the young indiana jones".